Interesting things about Saturn

By Eric Reefe, Feb 1, 2018

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Of all the planets in the Solar System, Saturn is one of the most interesting and beguiling. She is often overlooked in favor of bigger sister Jupiter, but we think Saturn is one of the most beautiful and fascinating of all the planets. One of the things we love about it is that it is the most unique of all the planets because it’s not just a boring old sphere. Saturn has those rings around her, which makes her much more interesting and eye-catching.

What is it that makes Saturn so appealing, and why does it attract scientists? The spacecraft Cassini has been used to study the planet for more than a decade now. And the plan is to destroy Cassini by sending it on a crash course for the planet, with the craft sending back invaluable data before being destroyed. So, until then, let’s look at some of the interesting facts about Saturn.

How long is a day?

Most planets allow us to take readings of how long a day is on that specific planet, but Saturn is a little different. Scientists have found the planet to present conflicting information when they have attempted to study this. An initial report in 1981 found that the length of a Saturnian day clocked in at 10 hours and 39 minutes. However, since that time, there have been conflicting reports that have suggested different times – one being 10 hours 33 minutes, and one being 10 hours 47 minutes. Saturn continues to throw up new information, and so it’s unclear what the exact timing are here.

It has seasons

Don’t get us wrong here, we’re not suggesting it’s like Earth – in fact, we don’t think anybody could ever confuse the two! But, Saturn does, in fact, have its own seasons. In fact, both Saturn, and Earth are tilted at a very similar axis, and this is the reason that both of them have seasons. It’s strange to think of another planet behaving like our own in even the smallest way; it’s just a shame there is no way to inhabit Saturn, or it could double up as a second Earth!

The weather is terrible

If you’re one of those people who loves terrible weather, you would love Saturn, in theory. Studies have shown that the weather is terrible here, with Saturn experiencing massive storms every few decades. These storms are pretty remarkable because they pull a lot of gases from deep in the atmosphere, and cause extreme changes in temperature. You might think you’ve seen storms, but the odds are you’ve never experienced anything quite like the sorts of storms Saturn has.

You can see it from home

We often think of a lot of the planets as being well out of our sights, especially anything besides Venus. But, the reality is that you can actually see Saturn from your home. If it’s a clear sky, and the viewing conditions are good, you will be able to see Saturn through even a basic telescope. You will be able to make out the distinctive rings, and you might even pick out Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.

So, these are just some of the awesome things you never knew about Saturn. It’s one of the coolest and most interesting planets in the Solar System, and if you’re anything like us, you’ll want to know more about it as much as you can. Look out for further missions to and studies of Saturn, and enjoy finding out more!